Bulls once again take shot at knocking out Bucks

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bulls will once again try to close out the Milwaukee Bucks when their first-round series heads to the Bradley Center for Game 6.

The Bulls have had two opportunities to eliminate the pesky Bucks. In Game 4 in Milwaukee, Chicago's Derrick Rose fell asleep defensively and allowed Jerryd Bayless an easy layup as time expired.

Monday's Game 5 was in Chicago, but the Bucks prevailed, 94-88.

Michael Carter-Williams scored eight of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and Milwaukee staved off elimination yet again. Carter-Williams, the reigning Rookie of the Year, battled through an ankle injury and shot 10-of-15 from the field while adding nine assists and eight rebounds for the Bucks.

The Bucks led the entire second half and made the United Center crowd a non- factor most of the night.

"(The team) worked their tails off and put themselves in position to make this a series," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "No one had us in this position. We just go out and play basketball."

Khris Middleton finished with 21 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 11 and John Henson pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds in addition to key baskets and defense down the stretch.

The Bulls committed 13 turnovers -- 15 fewer than their mistake-filled attempt at a sweep on Saturday -- but they shot just 7-of-30 (23.3 percent) from the field in the fourth quarter and 34.4 percent overall.

Rose struggled in particular with just 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting, while Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler both contributed double-doubles for a combined 45 points and 20 boards.

The Bulls trailed by nine, 67-58, following an Ersan Ilyasova 3-pointer, but they stayed relatively close by making eight free throws over the final four minutes of the third.

Carter-Williams returned from getting taped up in the locker room and opened the fourth with a couple of buckets that gave Milwaukee an 80-72 advantage.

It was a nine-point game before two long jumpers from Rose and another from Gasol cut the Bulls' deficit to 86-83 with under five minutes remaining.

That was as close as they got.

Carter-Williams banked in a jumper, and after forcing Gasol into a miss on the defensive end, Henson threw down a putback dunk on the ensuing possession to force a Bulls timeout.

Antetokounmpo recorded two blocks in the final two minutes, including one against Rose that would have cut Chicago's deficit to two. Middleton made two free throws with 27.3 seconds left for the final margin.

No team in NBA playoffs history has squandered a 3-0 series lead.

"Last time I checked you've just got to get four," Chicago's Mike Dunleavy told the team's website. "We've got to get one more game. That's how you advance in this tournament and we are optimistic we can do that Thursday."

Game 7 would be Saturday in Chicago. If the Bulls are successful on Thursday, they'll play the Central-rival Cleveland Cavaliers in round two, starting Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.